In Memoriam: PT-109

Sixty-two years ago today, PT-109, under the command of John F. Kennedy, ran afoul of a Japanese destroyer and sank. There are those who say that Mr. Kennedy merited a court-martial for losing his boat, but that doesn't change the fact that he rescued all but two of his men, a feat that involved towing at least one of them several miles to shore.

Not to belabor a point, but let's run a quick comparison:


This man volunteered for action in wartime, went into a combat zone, suffered injury in the water and saved a number of lives. His activities while in command have been interpreted in various ways, but he went. There's a guy who looks a lot like him who did something similar twenty-odd years later.

This man volunteered for a stateside post during wartime, never saw combat or even went overseas, failed to maintain himself in a state of combat readiness during his tour of duty, and then cut that tour short so he could work on a friend's political campaign. Now he's allowing his underlings to claim a monopoly on patriotism for him.

Benshlomo says, Did you ever notice that those who possess a virtue rarely need to mention it?